Mizuki Hayama
Mizuki Hayama is the main heroine in the fourth chapter of ef - The Latter Tale and is one of the two main heroines in Melodies (along with Yuuko Amamiya). In Memories she is a student at a middle-school that is affiliated with Otobane Academy in Otowa, Japan. In Melodies she visits Otowa, Australia while on winter break. Mizuki is cheerful, outgoing, and blunt, and she speaks frankly with others about their personal matters without embarrassment. She enjoys reading shōjo manga, including that of Hiro Hirono (she is unaware that he is the author). Relationships Mizuki has a strong affiliation for Kei Shindou, and she sometimes fantasizes having a yuri relationship with her. There is no evidence such a relationship ever happened. In Melodies, Mizuki travels to Otowa, Australia to visit her aunt, Sumire Asou, while on winter break. During this time, Sumire introduces Mizuki to her next door neighbor, Kuze Shuichi. Kuze is unaware that he had previously met Mizuki as a small child (''Melodies'' episode 10). It is likely that she remembers him, as she still wears the blue ribbon that he had given her back then. Mizuki visits Kuze several times and quickly falls in love with him. When she learns of his fatal illness from Chihiro Shindou, Mizuki becomes determined to rescue Kuze from his depression and isolation despite knowing that he will certainly die soon. Kuze rebuffs her advances to avoid hurting her. By the end of Melodies he gives in to her indomitable spirit and he finally accepts her. Key Problem When Mizuki (Miki) was five years old, her mother became suicidal and deliberately drove her car off a cliff into the ocean with her whole family inside, and all the passengers were killed except for little Miki. She was then placed in the same church orphanage that Yuuko Amamiya and Yuu Himura were placed in ten years prior. Despite the tragedy, Mizuki is well adjusted and appears to have suffered no major emotional trauma from the event. This might be due to the tender and loving care that Yuuko and Yuu lavished on her shortly afterward, which would have been based on their experiences in coping and dealing with their own terrible family tragedies. However, Mizuki remains fearful of the sea, and she sometimes has nightmares of sinking into the ocean depths. It is Mizuki's indomitable spirit and optimistic attitude in the face of the worst tragedies that allows her to save Kuze Shuichi from his depression over his fatal illness. At the [[Season 2 Episode 11|end of Melodies]] Kuze is at peace, and they agree to remain together and cherish their time with each other for as long as they can. * Note: The events in Melodies take place before and during Christmas. Mizuki's birthday is December 22. This makes her age 16 at the start of Melodies (when she falls in love with Kuze) and 17 at the end of Melodies (when they reconcile and perform the Christmas concert). The events in Memories begin on Christmas, so Mizuki was already 15 at the start of the first series. Category:Characters Category:Female Characters